A Combat Sports Legal Resource

Month: May 2016

Adding to this site’s archived summaries of studies addressing safety issues in combat sports, a recent study was published in the Journal of Neuroradiology canvassing the extent of objective white matter disturbance in the brains of amateur boxers compared to a control group. The study, titled Reduced White Matter Integrity in Amateur Boxers, posed the … More Study – White Matter Disturbance In Brains of Amateur Boxers

UPDATE June 2, 2016– the text of the Bill has now been published and can be found here. ______________________ The long rumored attempt to expand the protections of the “Ali Act” to MMA have now taken the first formal steps with Bill 5365 being introduced in the US House of Representatives by Republican MarkWayne Mullin. … More Bill To Expand “Ali Act” to MMA Introduced in Congress

In the parallel world of anti-doping efforts of combat sports there is potential for friction between regulatory bodies and privately contracted anti doping agencies. Diego Brandao, for example, was disciplined by both USADA and the NSAC for a singular anti doping violation. Brandao received similar penalties by both authorities but this result will not … More Nevada Looks To Open Books of Promoter Anti Doping Contracts

Yesterday a lawsuit was filed with the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, leveling serious allegations against MMA promoter Bellator. The lawsuit alleges that Bellator wrongfully dismissed the Plaintiff Zachery Light, Bellator’s former “talent development director” who was terminated from his position on March 17, 2016. The lawsuit alleges that Bellator engaged in … More Bellator Sued in Wrongful Dismissal Suit With Serious Allegations

Update June 1, 2016 – I am advised that this Bill, due to critical public feedback, has been slowed down and sent back to Committee and will not resurface until at least December when, hopefully, it revised to ensure objective safety standards are put into place. _____________________________________ Update May 28, 2016 – This Bill has … More Illinois Introduces Bill To Deregulate Amateur Combative Sports

BJ Penn has had another set back in coming out of retirement to fight once again in the UFC. The celebrated fighter with a history of an anti IV stance, has curiously admitted to USADA to using an IV in an out of competition setting. Penn apparently admitted to having an IV administered during a … More BJ Penn Admits to Prohibited IV Use, Suspended by USADA

It is becoming ever clearer that mileage matters when it comes to exposure of head trauma and poor long term cognitive outcomes. A recent study, titled “Cognitive, Psychiatric, And Neuropathological Manifestations Of Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury” published as a dissertationn paper in Wayne State University’s Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences sought answers to the important question … More Study – Repeated Subconcussive Blows Just As Bad As Concussions For Long Term Brain Impairment

In my ongoing efforts to document scientific studies addressing safety issues in combat sports, a recent article was published examining the facial injury rate among boxing, wrestling and martial arts competitors. The article, titled “Adding Insult to Injury – A National Analysis of Combat Sports-Related Facial Injury” was published this month in the Annals of … More Study – Wrestling Presents Highter Facial Injury Rate Than Boxing and Martial Arts

In the earlier stages of the Anti Trust Lawsuit against UFC parent company Zuffa the parties requested and the Court approved a blanket protective order over documents exchanged during the discovery process which largely prevents the public from accessing the documents when filed as part of the judicial proceedings. Earlier this month, however, Magistrate Judge … More Judge Reminds UFC That Public Access to Lawsuit Documents is the Norm

Shortly after testing positive for marijuana metabolites by an in competition test conducted by USADA at UFC 195 along with other legal woes Diego Brandao was released from the promotion. This week USADA announced that they have sanctioned Brandao with a 9 month suspension for the anti-doping policy violation. This is the first example of USADA’s … More USADA, Former UFC Fighters and “Retained Jurisdiction”